Editing Google Search (section)

== Discontinued features ==
=== Translate foreign pages ===
Until May 2013, Google Search had offered a feature to [[Cross-language information retrieval|translate search queries into other languages]]. A Google spokesperson told ''[[Search Engine Land]]'' that "Removing features is always tough, but we do think very hard about each decision and its implications for our users. Unfortunately, this feature never saw much pick up".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Barry |date=May 20, 2013 |title=Google Drops "Translated Foreign Pages" Search Option Due To Lack Of Use |url=https://searchengineland.com/google-drops-translated-foreign-pages-search-option-due-to-lack-of-use-160157 |access-date=December 15, 2017 |website=[[Search Engine Land]] |archive-date=October 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017042951/https://searchengineland.com/google-drops-translated-foreign-pages-search-option-due-to-lack-of-use-160157 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==={{visible anchor|Instant search|Instant Search}}===
Instant search was announced in September 2010 as a feature that [[Incremental search|displayed suggested results while the user typed in their search query]], initially only in select countries or to registered users.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 8, 2010 |title=Google Instant Search: The Complete User's Guide |url=https://searchengineland.com/google-instant-complete-users-guide-50136 |access-date=October 5, 2021 |website=Search Engine Land |language=en |quote=Google Instant only works for searchers in the US or who are logged in to a Google account in selected countries outside the US |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020125043/https://searchengineland.com/google-instant-complete-users-guide-50136 |url-status=live }}</ref> The primary advantage of the new system was its ability to save time, with [[Marissa Mayer]], then-vice president of search products and user experience, proclaiming that the feature would save 2–5 seconds per search, elaborating that "That may not seem like a lot at first, but it adds up. With Google Instant, we estimate that we'll save our users 11 hours with each passing second!"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mayer |first=Marissa |author-link=Marissa Mayer |date=September 8, 2010 |title=Search: now faster than the speed of type |url=https://googleblog.blogspot.no/2010/09/search-now-faster-than-speed-of-type.html |access-date=December 15, 2017 |website=Official Google Blog |archive-date=December 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215221553/https://googleblog.blogspot.no/2010/09/search-now-faster-than-speed-of-type.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Matt Van Wagner of ''[[Search Engine Land]]'' wrote that "Personally, I kind of like Google Instant and I think it represents a natural evolution in the way search works", and also praised Google's efforts in [[public relations]], writing that "With just a press conference and a few well-placed interviews, Google has parlayed this relatively minor speed improvement into an attention-grabbing front-page news story".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wagner |first=Matt Van |date=September 20, 2010 |title=How Google Saved $100 Million By Launching Google Instant |url=https://searchengineland.com/how-google-saved-100-million-by-launching-google-instant-51270 |access-date=December 15, 2017 |website=[[Search Engine Land]] |archive-date=October 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019111500/https://searchengineland.com/how-google-saved-100-million-by-launching-google-instant-51270 |url-status=live }}</ref> The upgrade also became notable for the company switching Google Search's underlying technology from [[HTML]] to [[Ajax (programming)|AJAX]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gomes |first=Ben |date=September 9, 2010 |title=Google Instant, behind the scenes |url=https://googleblog.blogspot.no/2010/09/google-instant-behind-scenes.html |access-date=December 15, 2017 |website=Official Google Blog |archive-date=December 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215221508/https://googleblog.blogspot.no/2010/09/google-instant-behind-scenes.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Instant Search could be disabled via Google's "preferences" menu for those who didn't want its functionality.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pash |first=Adam |date=September 8, 2010 |title=How to Turn Off Google Instant Search |url=https://lifehacker.com/5633004/how-to-turn-off-google-instant-search |access-date=December 15, 2017 |website=[[Lifehacker]] |publisher=[[Univision Communications]] |archive-date=December 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216034557/https://lifehacker.com/5633004/how-to-turn-off-google-instant-search |url-status=live }}</ref>

The publication ''[[2600: The Hacker Quarterly]]'' compiled a list of words that Google Instant did not show suggested results for, with a Google spokesperson giving the following statement to ''[[Mashable]]'':<ref>{{Cite web |last=Axon |first=Samuel |date=September 28, 2010 |title=Which Words Does Google Instant Blacklist? |url=http://mashable.com/2010/09/28/google-instant-blacklist/ |access-date=December 15, 2017 |website=[[Mashable]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] |archive-date=December 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215221427/http://mashable.com/2010/09/28/google-instant-blacklist/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Blockquote|There are several reasons you may not be seeing search queries for a particular topic. Among other things, we apply a narrow set of removal policies for pornography, violence, and hate speech. It's important to note that removing queries from Autocomplete is a hard problem, and not as simple as blacklisting particular terms and phrases.

In search, we get more than one billion searches each day. Because of this, we take an algorithmic approach to removals, and just like our search algorithms, these are imperfect. We will continue to work to improve our approach to removals in Autocomplete, and are listening carefully to feedback from our users.

Our algorithms look not only at specific words, but compound queries based on those words, and across all languages. So, for example, if there's a bad word in Russian, we may remove a compound word including the transliteration of the Russian word into English. We also look at the search results themselves for given queries. So, for example, if the results for a particular query seem pornographic, our algorithms may remove that query from Autocomplete, even if the query itself wouldn't otherwise violate our policies. This system is neither perfect nor instantaneous, and we will continue to work to make it better.}}

''[[PC Magazine]]'' discussed the inconsistency in how some forms of the same topic are allowed; for instance, "lesbian" was blocked, while "gay" was not, and "cocaine" was blocked, while "crack" and "heroin" were not. The report further stated that seemingly normal words were also blocked due to pornographic innuendos, most notably "scat", likely due to having two completely separate contextual meanings, one for music and one for a sexual practice.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Horn |first=Leslie |date=September 29, 2010 |title=Google Instant Blacklist: Which Words Are Blocked? |url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2369908,00.asp |access-date=December 15, 2017 |magazine=[[PC Magazine]] |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]]}}</ref>

On July 26, 2017, Google removed Instant results, due to a growing number of searches on mobile devices, where interaction with search, as well as screen sizes, differ significantly from a computer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Barry |date=July 26, 2017 |title=Google has dropped Google Instant Search |url=https://searchengineland.com/google-dropped-google-instant-search-279674 |access-date=December 15, 2017 |website=[[Search Engine Land]] |archive-date=December 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215221323/https://searchengineland.com/google-dropped-google-instant-search-279674 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Statt |first=Nick |date=July 26, 2017 |title=Google will stop showing search results as you type because it makes no sense on mobile |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/26/16034844/google-kills-off-instant-search-for-mobile-consistency |access-date=December 15, 2017 |website=[[The Verge]] |publisher=[[Vox Media]] |archive-date=December 15, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215221633/https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/26/16034844/google-kills-off-instant-search-for-mobile-consistency |url-status=live }}</ref>

==={{visible anchor|Instant previews|Instant previews}}===
"Instant previews" allowed previewing screenshots of search results' web pages without having to open them. The feature was introduced in November 2010 to the desktop website and removed in April 2013 citing low usage.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Singel |first=Ryan |date=November 9, 2010 |title=Google Gives Searchers 'Instant Previews' of Result Pages |url=https://www.wired.com/2010/11/google-instant-previews/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=October 5, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=April 25, 2013 |title=Google Drops Instant Previews Over Low Usage |url=https://www.seroundtable.com/google-instant-previews-gone-16699.html |access-date=October 5, 2021 |website=seroundtable.com |archive-date=October 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005135530/https://www.seroundtable.com/google-instant-previews-gone-16699.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Dedicated encrypted search page===
Various search engines provide encrypted Web search facilities. In May 2010 Google rolled out SSL-encrypted web search.<ref name="sslsearch01">{{Cite web |date=May 2010 |title=SSL Search: Features – Web Search Help |url=https://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=173733&hl=en |access-date=July 7, 2010 |website=Web Search Help |archive-date=May 24, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524223335/http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=173733&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref> The encrypted search was accessed at <code>encrypted.google.com</code><ref>{{Cite web |title=Encrypted.google.com |url=http://encrypted.google.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229012329/https://encrypted.google.com/ |archive-date=December 29, 2013 |access-date=August 4, 2012 }}</ref> However, the web search is encrypted via Transport Layer Security ([[Transport Layer Security|TLS]]) by default today, thus every search request should be automatically encrypted if TLS is supported by the web browser.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=March 13, 2014 |title=Google Will Start Encrypting Your Searches |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=https://time.com/23495/google-search-encryption/ |access-date=February 6, 2017}}</ref> On its support website, Google announced that the address <code>encrypted.google.com</code> would be turned off April 30, 2018, stating that all Google products and most new browsers use HTTPS connections as the reason for the discontinuation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Encrypted.google.com is going away |url=https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/7631341?hl=en |access-date=May 18, 2018 |publisher=Google Inc. |archive-date=March 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327083733/https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/7631341?hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Real-Time Search ===
Google Real-Time Search was a feature of Google Search in which search results also sometimes included [[Real-time computing|real-time]] information from sources such as [[Twitter]], [[Facebook]], [[blog]]s, and news websites.<ref name="mashablelaunch">[http://mashable.com/2009/12/07/google-real-time-search/ "Google launches Real-Time Search"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126003736/http://mashable.com/2009/12/07/google-real-time-search/ |date=January 26, 2021 }}. Mashable. Retrieved July 12, 2010.</ref> The feature was introduced on December 7, 2009,<ref>[http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/relevance-meets-real-time-web.html "Relevance meets the real-time web"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407221454/http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/relevance-meets-real-time-web.html |date=April 7, 2019 }}. Google. Retrieved July 12, 2010.</ref> and went offline on July 2, 2011, after the deal with Twitter expired.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 4, 2011 |title=As Deal With Twitter Expires, Google Realtime Search Goes Offline |url=http://searchengineland.com/as-deal-with-twitter-expires-google-realtime-search-goes-offline-84175 |access-date=March 3, 2014 |publisher=Searchengineland.com |archive-date=November 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111144417/http://searchengineland.com/as-deal-with-twitter-expires-google-realtime-search-goes-offline-84175 |url-status=live }}</ref> Real-Time Search included [[Facebook]] status updates beginning on February 24, 2010.<ref>[https://techcrunch.com/2010/02/24/google-facebook-status-updates/ "Google Real-Time Search Now Includes A Fraction Of Facebook Status Updates"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031120411/https://techcrunch.com/2010/02/24/google-facebook-status-updates/ |date=October 31, 2019 }}. TechCrunch. Retrieved July 12, 2010.</ref> A feature similar to Real-Time Search was already available on [[Microsoft]]'s [[Bing (search engine)|Bing search engine]], which showed results from [[Twitter]] and Facebook.<ref>[http://www.pcworld.com/article/183984/googles_realtime_search_ready_to_challenge_bing.html "Google's Real-Time Search Ready to Challenge Bing"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120706224106/http://www.pcworld.com/article/183984/googles_realtime_search_ready_to_challenge_bing.html |date=July 6, 2012 }}. ''PC World''. Retrieved July 12, 2010.</ref> The interface for the engine showed a live, descending "river" of posts in the main region (which could be paused or resumed), while a [[bar chart]] metric of the frequency of posts containing a certain search term or hashtag was located on the right hand corner of the page above a list of most frequently reposted posts and outgoing links. [[Hashtag]] search links were also supported, as were "promoted" tweets hosted by Twitter (located persistently on top of the river) and thumbnails of retweeted image or video links.

In January 2011, geolocation links of posts were made available alongside results in Real-Time Search. In addition, posts containing syndicated or attached shortened links were made searchable by the ''link:'' query option. In July 2011, Real-Time Search became inaccessible, with the Real-Time link in the Google sidebar disappearing and a custom 404 error page generated by Google returned at its former URL. Google originally suggested that the interruption was temporary and related to the launch of [[Google+]];<ref>{{Cite web |last=Quotes delayed at least 15 min |date=December 31, 1999 |title=Business news: Financial, stock & investing news online - MSN Money |url=http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20110704&id=13857152 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110402225750/http://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP |archive-date=April 2, 2011 |access-date=March 3, 2014 |publisher=Money.msn.com}}</ref> they subsequently announced that it was due to the expiry of a commercial arrangement with Twitter to provide access to tweets.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 3, 2011 |title=Google Realtime Search Goes Missing |url=http://searchengineland.com/google-realtime-search-goes-missing-84130 |access-date=March 3, 2014 |publisher=Searchengineland.com |archive-date=February 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140214110310/http://searchengineland.com/google-realtime-search-goes-missing-84130 |url-status=live }}</ref>